SirLeon
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This is Shelby Swink. She was meant to get married in November 2014.
Her Fiance left her a week before the wedding.
Instead of moping around, her photographer told her to have a shoot where she trashed her dress.
So she, her bridesmaids and her parents did just that.
Dad even brought Champagne...
And Cigars...
Pretty kickass.
Her dress is on display at a bridal shop in Memphis. Some of the proceeds from sales of their dresses will go to a Non-Profit called Be Free Revolution.
She holds no grudge against her ex-fiance, merely thanking him for not heaping more hardship on her further down the line.
So I think this is a middle finger to the situation... not the guy.
I stole this right off buzzfeed:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/krystieyandoli/after-her-fiance-left-her-at-the-altar-this-bride-took-the-w?bffb&utm_term=4ldqpgp#.eiEnQgRVZ
WarBear
http://i.huffpost.com/gen/905230/thumbs/o-SNOW-CAMO-WEDDING-DRESS-facebook.jpg
waitingpatientlytoberelevant
One of the bridesmaids is my friend! Love to see them here!!
CrimsonNirnr00t
I really like this post. I'm all about empowerment after being hurt.
clobbersaurus
Honestly, better that he told her before the wedding. Divorce would be worse.
StrobeLightOn
+1 for including references
dick4
In a world of horrid bridesmaid dresses, those bridesmaid dresses are exceptionally horrid
giveittomestraightlikeapearcidermadefrom100percentpears
Thats fair enough, i know too many couples that though getting married will fix things. When all of those ppl, got an expensive divorce
COVCREO
photographer be like bitch i want my money.
Alaskabound
Apparently cute girls covered in paint is a thing i like
LadyDisdain
She should donate the dress to a museum in Croatia called The Museum of Broken Relationships. It'd be a perfect addition.
Simanni
well,atleast they didnt get married and have a giant,terrible divorce.
Nevermore667
That's legit- I've seen Buzzfeed articles ripped entirely from imgur. Like they just screencapped it all, didn't even try to hide the source
mariomario42
Props to the dad sacrificing a perfectly good suit for his daughter.
TastyTastyScience
I didn't really care about the dresses, but the suit getting ruined made me cry inside.
mechanimated
I think in a situation that's normally so heartbreaking, you'd be more than happy to trash a suit to help your child move on.
MissSpelledTattoo
U r on point, @mechanimated
jebert
Cheaper then a wedding and divorce! But still, was a nice suit...
Bent0916
He's the bride's father. The divorce wasn't gonna cost him anything anyhow.
MissSpelledTattoo
than* :)
ropplestiltskin
Story is sweet, I am glad she was able to move on and enjoy life.
TheGammaRae
I had an anti-wedding party since we had rented a cabin in the woods for my entire family. Fun times. Most I've ever drank in my entire life
juanchits
I wouldn't displease Mickey Rourke's daughter...
TheElvenBane
Thanks for the sauce. You will go far.
SirLeon
Haha, I couldn't really not give it, I ripped it directly from Buzzfeed. I'm lazy...
TheElvenBane
Still. You're a good Sir
sweetfeetpete
Much like buzzfeed
GoldenDazeElf
The twist, it was a rental.
letsstealahouse
Her mom bought the dress for her.
nelshai
Double-Twist; Fiance was the one who paid the rent.
nflgeneric
The dad's tux probably was...
yewlith
I hate when my rental fiance skips out a week before the wedding
BabiesDippedInFondue
Found M. Night Shamalamadingdong
rufiooo
Clever photographer for figuring out how to get paid still
tuto193
Maybe she was just a bitch. Who knows....
SweetBabyJesus
"...someone somewhere is sick of her shit"
strumfooligan
Thanks for that. Now I have to clean the eggnog that shot out of my nose.
IdigUnsolvedMysteries
You sure that's eggnog?
thisisthebesticouldowithouthaspacebar
Those comments on buzzfeed hurt to read. It's on the same level as youtube... Cool post though, OP.
imtiredofthinkingupaccounts
all men are assholes gah! Thats what I got from it
SystemPeanut
Yeah. My brain hurts now.
wargasm123
Good for her.
HobbitHouse
But we all agree that it's better now than later right? Like after they married?
ballaBOSS
better now than later!! this will be one of those "life lessons". chalk it up!!!
bluerazzgummy
Both actions are as weak as the other. Talking about it to your partner is the right thing to do.
DonaldTrumpsPubicCombover
I think that's why she isn't holding a grudge against him, but rather the situation. You're completely right though.
maddieislame
She said in the news that she was glad because it would've been harder if they were married and had 2 kids or something.
Kryoma
Exactly. Being with someone for years, then marrying them and 16 months later them telling you they want a divorce is a bit more devastating
Schickster
In the article she calls him an asshole. And I'm like... he'd be more of an asshole to wait for a divorce.
thewordsoftheprophetsarewrittenonthesubwaywall
but that's the thing, he waited till a WEEK before the wedding...he knew beforehand
flapperfemmefatale
agreed. but maybe the dude should have gotten his shit together and figured it out before proposing.
NotWelcomehere
Maybe he did but hurting someone is hard to do, and peoples' internal schema can sometimes be in conflict?
shadykit
ABSOLUTELY. About to go through a divorce after only a year of marriage. It completely sucks.
AnnieBahde
At least before kids!? I hope you guys can be friends.
shadykit
Definitely before kids. We were together seven years and there are hard feelings, but... in the end we want to stay friends if possible.
weetzie210
Went through the same thing! The ex even said he had doubts about getting married in the first place, makes me mad I wasted it on him.
shadykit
YES. He said he thought marriage would 'fix' us. I DIDN'T KNOW ANYTHING WAS WRONG!
ThisCommentWasAutomaticallyGeneratedByImgurViralizer
Be glad you're not going through a divorce after 20 years of marriage.
shadykit
This is very true. No kids, no house, everything we own was bought before the wedding... should be a fairly no-frills affair.
attinex08se
Ex groom's loss. She has great bone structure. She should breed opera singers. They'd be loud as fuck.
WillJeSuis
To be honest, to me this would look like a sign of the crazies.
CrabWallet
Yea, not having trouble imagining why a guy would bail.
octikitten
I like this stealing off of buzzfeed thing. I often like their content but hate caving into their clickbait and dealing with their site
SunbrosUnite
People accept stealing from OTHER websites but when 9gag does it Imgur wants another holocaust for their users I dont fucking get you people
JSmith90
All that honeydickin'
klubai4
Yep, OP can do more stealing from buzzfeed please, so I can keep not going there
artybot
most of the time Buzzfeed get their content straight off imgur.
WhatFreshLunacyIsThis
So she's single?
PunchTornado
and fat
EveryCommentIs140CharactersExceptMaybeThisOne
asking the right questions here.
SophiaLemonGrenade
She really does seem cool, right? Like, a neat person. With a nice face. And luscious hair. This is getting creepy, sorry, I'll leave now.
JaredHinojosa117
She's ugly and don't give 2 shits what the tumblrbeasts have to say I'm in a dick mood and I'm going to go to my home with /b/
JaredHinojosa117
This has gone from 1-5 upvotes and back dome to 1 really fast what a wild ride
litoris
I prefer a broad with a little meat to hold onto. Not a dick, mind you, but some ass meat.
ashes12
Fingers crossed she's looking for a lady next ;)
lockwoodx
You don't just flip back and forth like that unless you're a complete twatnozzle. If she wasn't born gay she'd make her partner miserable.
snowjackson
Im looking for a lady right at this very moment, I think we both have the proper equipment to escalate this.
ashes12
Boobs? :)
snowjackson
I have 2 of them. :D
ashes12
:O me too!! :)
Moosecock
I am ;)
DonaldTrumpsPubicCombover
As am I, then again... I am a guy, so...
evostars
I don't get it either... Why is saying no to a proposal the same as saying no to a relationship?
hellafordays
I'm sure he broke up, didn't just say he didn't want to get married. Also, waiting a week before the wedding is kind of rough.
CPatricoo
It shows that both of you (in many cases but not all) have different goals in life and may not be able to build a life together.
FindYourChillMate
I'd say in some cases. For most people its just different timescales.
FaxCelestis
She got engaged, and dude jumped a week before the wedding. That's not saying no to a proposal.
lovesonegirl
He didn't say no to a proposal. He left her a week before the wedding. That's a shit-ton of different!
ThisCommentWasAutomaticallyGeneratedByImgurViralizer
It's like the difference between defusing a bomb when there's two hours left on the timer, and defusing it when there's two seconds left.
geriatricsanatore
I'd be alot less stressed at the two hour mark than the two second mark.
JRobi49
"I Stole this right off Buzzfeed" +1
SomebodyStoleMyCarRadio
It's only plagiarism if you don't cite your sources, we'll forgive you OP
tzajkowski
The funny thing is BuzzFeed stole it from offbeatbride: http://offbeatbride.com/2014/12/i-got-left-at-the-altar
imtiredofthinkingupaccounts
I dont mind if they are at least honest haha
ashleykailani
Damn, I read this on buzz feed earlier. Could have gotten all the internet points
Vorticity
Right? I just thought the same thing.
MadGeneral
Rich white people waste money, more at 11.
neonfraction
Once you have a wedding dress fitted, you can't return it.
MadGeneral
Maybe save it in case you decide to get married at some point in the future instead of ruining it.
neonfraction
I think that would be difficult emotionally to wear the same dress for the man who left you. A wedding dress is more than just a dress.
caralily
No one wants to wear the dress they had when an engagement broke up. Bad memories. You resell it or something.
zalan26
But those wedding dresses can cost around 500$? Why fucking waste it?
TheyCallMeBigBootyBecauseIHaveABigBooty
Well, don't stick yo dick in crazy, so he may of avoided spending a lot more than that lol
cspinasdf
Oh I still agree with your sentiment. But it probably has more to do with the dress representing the relationship & that wedding.
Momof2needsabreak
Many dresses are more than that. Mine was about $800 after alterations, but paid for it myself and still love it and have it.
caralily
I'd buy the trashed dress to get married in because it looks cool. I'm sure she could sell it if she wanted to.
lizzieskwrl
Considering the amount probably lost in deposits, I would've tried to resell the dress rather than wreck it. =/
human8060
Can't put a price on closure. She turned something shitty into something wonderful and memorable. I think it rocks.
ChelBel
I get the sentiment and it's a really cool idea, but I think I would have donated the dress...and cried and yelled a whole lot! :P
vorduul
Doesn't look like it was wasted to me.
MissSpelledTattoo
Agree, I like the vivid after picture more than the before :)
shank
What else are you going to do with it? They're not returnable & I guarantee she wouldn't want to wear it if she gets engaged again.
MissSpelledTattoo
Donate, consign...that's what i did post-wedding, and they dry cleaned it too as part of the deal :)
WhyCantIPickUsername
My sweet summer child. Some girls drop 10 grand on a dress. Watch "say yes to the dress" and have your mind blown. It's an education.
dontgooglegoogle
Upvote merely for "my sweet summer child"
IDriveAMinivan
I called that shop. I was informed that dresses start at $2500 (2005) she was rather snotty about it.
IMentionedTheBisque
That show hurts my brain. Also, I'm appropriating the phrase "my sweet summer child," if you are cool with that.
WhyCantIPickUsername
Of course. I stole it from George RR Martin.
cspinasdf
Lol $500? That's a pretty low number for a wedding dress. The average wedding dress is well over a grand.
mrsmusica
Naw, not the average. Mine was around $400. Bridal shops have plenty of reasonably-priced dresses. It's the fancy ones that are expensive.
Snooj
Alternate title: Clever wedding photographer avoids losing a gig.
bonnettt
Nope. Gotta pay in full even if event is canceled. Usually half up front and half after supposed gig. You have 30 days to cancel with 1/2
kanihaznaiph
Protip, when hiring catering/photographer, tell them it's an EVENT, not a wedding, they charge more if it's a "wedding"
IntelligentHippo
TOTALLY
Mshine
...and has sex with the ex-bride.
OddSon
Right? That's what I first thought. Photographer wanted to get paid!
rufiooo
Made the same comment, then saw yours. Have my upvote.
rustyspade
Smart business person has clients sign contract.
fingersonlips
I'm getting married in September and our photographer is already paid in full.
RobotCosmonaut
Or she signed a contract and instead of giving up the deposit she paid the photographer for a cathartic photoshoot?
labrat
Also, the photog probably didn't end up charging the whole fee because this would have been a much shorter shoot than a wedding.
OhMyGodTheyKilledBrianYouBastards
nailed it..
thedevil
and TONS of good press. I'm taking notes on this one. I hate having gigs cancelled.
ratherlargecookieofdoom
That was my first thought.
labrat
Wedding photographers normally get half of their fee up front. For exactly this reason.
chickenboo
Clever photographer gets 100% before the wedding; allows payment for album after (before its sent to print).
CrimeBrulee
Mine took final payment 2 weeks before, so they may have already been fully paid.
aShogunNamedMarcus
Can't blame them. ~20 weddings a year is not uncommon, so losing one is like a 5% annual salary cut, which is a hit for most folks' budgets.
labrat
Oh, I absolutely don't blame them. You tell them they have to be available all day on a weekend day a year in advance? Take my deposit.
MlCHAEL
But now he gets all the pay. Smart man.
ashleykailani
From reading buzzfeed, photographer was a woman
skellious
I imagine the photographer agreed to do the shoot for the half they already had. they didn't need to refund it but felt bad for her.
labrat
Probably still not the full fee. Because this would have been a way shorter shoot than the wedding and reception.
HotShower
>implying they didn't still have a reception
eviscera
She probably already paid for the reception.
labrat
Well, I assumed...I mean, there aren't any photos of it.
badatskunks
Eh, trash the dress sessions are actually super-common even for brides who DO get married because what else do you do with the dress? My
chickenboo
Sent off to a specialist cleaner at some cost I'd like to forget, so it could be put in nice box and kept safe for ever. Old style
SportsPhotoGirl
Photographer here. I literally don't know a single other photographer that doesn't offer a trash the dress session. Still very popular.
badatskunks
Same! I've seen some very cool shit come out of those sessions, too. Amazingly creative ideas.
JosephGordonLevittsLeftSock
i trashed my dress because we decided to go have ramen after the ceremony and i spilled some on me because i'm clumsy
JosephGordonLevittsLeftSock
yes just me and my husband in a small ramen shop in full blown wedding attire. the staff loved it and gave us free beers.
captainclutch
In times long past, wedding dresses were just fancy clothes, like a man's tux, they could be worn to other occasions.
badatskunks
That would work for the old-fashioned pretty lace ones but the new wedding dresses, I can't imagine anywhere else you could wear it.
TheSisko
Save it for your kids, sell it half-price on CL, donate it to someone who can't afford a lavish dress...
badatskunks
Those things are usually so specifically altered to one woman's body that it's very unlikely they're going to properly fit someone else's.
MissSpelledTattoo
That's what further alterations are for. If u r fairly average proportions, it's no problem. Speaking from personal experience my old dress
TheSisko
If you give it to someone a size smaller, it can be further altered.
MissSpelledTattoo
I consigned mine and it sold within a few weeks, got almost $500 back after 50%? fee. Well worth it, made me happy for it to be worn agn /1
MissSpelledTattoo
And for someone to look and feel beautiful :)
TheSisko
I ended up picking a less conventional dress & wore a green floral dress. I've reused it for various occasions. I like the consignment idea!
badatskunks
all-time favorite wedding photographer, Mike Allebach, has some amazing ones including a couple of circus performers who do fire-spinning
badatskunks
setting their dress on fire after the ceremony. The photog probably offered her this as an alternative for the wedding shoot and I doubt
badatskunks
they charged her more than the deposit she'd already paid or they put that toward a small balance/difference.
IDontSeeEnoughDarkTowerOnImgur
Dat 140 characters tho.
badatskunks
I hateses it. >.<